ESDC names new business ombudswoman

Mwisa Chisunka has been appointed business ombudswoman and director of business tax services and education for the Empire State Development Corp., officials said.

Chisunka joins the ESDC after four years with the state Department of Taxation and Finance. Before that, she was a senior analyst and policy operations coordinator with the state Senate.

“The appointment of a business ombudswoman builds on our success in making New York a business-friendly state,” said Kenneth Adams, president and CEO of ESDC, in a statement. “It will help businesses of all sizes achieve their goals; to thrive and grow.”

Chisunka graduated from Colgate University, and has a master’s degree in public affairs from the SUNY College at Albany’s Nelson A. Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy.

Chisunka will work closely with the business community on developments in tax law, and will help businesses resolve other issues, officials said. She will partner with chambers of commerce, small business development centers, trade associations and non-profits statewide, they said.

Chisunka also will try to streamline and enhance tax administration, providing input to the state’s regional economic development councils, to appropriate state agencies, and to the Commission on Tax Reform and Fairness and its focus on updating the tax system to enhance the state’s business climate, officials said.